"I DON'T KNOW HOW THE MAN DIED,"

NZ Truth, Issue 71, 27 October 1906, Page 5

"I DON'T KNOW HOW THE MAN DIED,"

SAYS "DUFFY" MO&RIS. 1 « FREDERICK PARKES GIVES IMPORTANT TESTIMONY. • — . »■ — — . MONDAY'S PROCEEDINGS. Tbj Actiiig-Cbroner, Mr. King, commenced wi inquiry on Monday afternoon into the circumstances surrounding the death of 1 George Grohtf; It will be remembered, Grohn was the; man -whom Mr. John Norton was alleged (1) to have fraudulently dispossessed of 'his property and (2) on the night of November 8, 190?, to have hit on the head with a beerrbottle, with the result that he died early the following morning. Mr. Mant appeared for the Crown; Mr. Nathan (Westgarth, Nathan, and Co.), for Mr.. Norton; and Mr. Mdntague for Mr. Charleß J. Haynes, and some friends of the deceased man. Superintendent Jotter, who was the first witness examined, produced a warrant, under the seal of the Coroner, ordering THE EXHUMATION OF GROHN'S BOD?. The warrant was dated October 6, 1906. Witness stated 1 that the body, which was interred m the Rookwood Cemetery, was exhumed the fqllowdng day (Sunday, October 7).- Witness at the cemetery shortly after iJB o'clock ( m the morning. The grave was then open,;, showing, the coffin, without the. coffin itself being, disturbed. I^e manager of Vthe'c«meftery, Mr. Kimberley, was -present,, (together with a conBtable. . Wifci ess, savr the t coffin! raised 'and placed .m a i-.onveyarice. ' ' 'The .conveyance was m, charge of Detective Barman, who took the coffin to the morgue. Witness afterwards saw the coffin at the morgue. The Coroner: Was there/ any inscription on the coffin?— No. Directly the coffin was brought up, I searched for the plate. The plate itself Was all corroded, and there was no trace of the lettering originally there. This had been PAINTED ON. '■■■■■ Mr. Mant: Was there a tombstone? — No. Mr. Montague: Did you say there was , uo trace of anything P— Well, there were traces of lettering; but 'there was nothing decipherable. , Continuing, the witness said the coffin, whon taken to the morgue, was not opened till Drs. Taylor and Palmer, were present. Frank Cain, an undertaker's assistant, m the employ of Messrs. Coffill and Co., was the next witness. Witness said he remembered going out to Mr. Norton's, at Randwick', about tile date given of Grohn's death' —Sunday, November 9, 1902. He went out on "the Sunday night. The Coroner: What did you find?— l found ! THE BODY OF A MAN, £md I coffined it. Did you do anything to the body before jcoffining it?— No. Continuing, the witness said that Mr. Coffill and an assistant, were with him. There were thus three of them there. He was mistaken m saying they did nothing before coffining the body. , Witness was handed a pair of pyjamas, with which he covered, or wrapped round^ the body as well as he could. 'He then took it away to the firm's mortuary chambers m Harrisetreet. ■ The following morning he buried it m the Rookwood Cemetery. He remembered the day of the ' well, because it was a' holiday. ' •> r The Coroner: Do ; -j»u- know the number of the grave?— No. -I- took the number of the. grave., and, handed it into : ; ; THErM^A % OER'A?:|THE OFFICE. Tho name was given m with the nunjber. The Coroner: Were the name and' number on the* paper you handed m the V; same as the name and the number on the' plate on the coffin ?— I believe so. You were present at the exhumation on Sunday morning? — Yes. Was the grave from which the coffin was taken the grave, m which you buried the bouy ?— Yes. V . Do you recognise it m any particular wav?— No particular way. Continuing, the witness stated that the coffin when brought up Was taken charge of by the police, that he was with the coffin from the time it was taken up till it was deposited m the morgue, and that he saw it opened at the morgue. . . The Coroner: When it was opened did you notice anything about the body that you recognised?— Well,. l. saw some texture, m the shape of the pyjamas, which were over the body m the way I put them WHEN I WAS BURYING IT. I could not discern the pattern of the texture. . Do you know anything else touching this man Grohn?— Nq. Mr. Mant: Who did you receive your instructions from to go out to see' that body ? —From Messrs. Coffill and Co.' From your inspection of the coffin taken to the morgue did it appear to be the coffin m which you buried the body?— lt appeared Id b;3 a similar coffin. 1c you remember what was the original inscription on the coffin?— l could not swear what it was. The name and age are the particulars usually put on the plate. Cross-examined by Mr. Montague, the wit-iie.-s stated that before he went out with Mr. Coffill and an assistant on the Sunday night., about 7 o'clock, spmVone HAD ALREADY BEEN THERE to lake the deceased's measurements. • Mr. Montague: Did Mr. Coffill go with you ihe next day to the burial ?— No, he did not. An; you quite positive of that?— Yes. You know that a certificate of witnesses to the burial is required? — Yes. "Would you be surprised to hear that the eeiviiicahe m this case is signed by you and Mr. Coifill?— I will swear that Mr. Coffill was not present at Rookwood. ! \\ torn did you see when you went to Mr.' •ITor ton's place?— l saw two men. One of them wmjg Mr. Norton. I could not say who the other was. DO YOU KNOW A MAN NAMED MORRIS? (Moii is was hore called m so that the witness '.night ore him). Is that the man you saw lihore with Mr. Norton? — It looks like him. I could not me ear to him. The Coroner: Had you any authority for burying the man?— Yes, I had the doctor's certificate. What did you do with that?-: When I canto back from, the cemetery I gave it to Mr: CofßJl or the manager. Y/KM. *s thru oKungartt mono?— Mr. Buckley wiift &? mxtMgar ft* that tima. Petr**. 1 *! BamtUK w*» was Om next witness, ir*****f- to \*B»g jpuamwk with SoperraLciulc ut INtttar "vfaca tha bo*ty watr. fiTJiani<hi. 3iVStw«"> :-'3^fi ihtA *snw» ie iW4^luuaeb of

England section, No. 2, and that the number of the grave Itself" was 1958. Detective Fullerton was here put m the witness-box to enable him to tender A PORTION OP THE PYJAMAS taken out of the coffin, together with a button from the pyjamas picked up m 'the bottom of the coffin. Edward Morris was then called. The witness stated that he was at present m the employ of the City Council,/ and ttiat his address was No. 1 Eochford-street, Erskineville. He remembered Sunday, November 9, 1902. The Coroner: I want you to confine yourself just now to the identification of the body. You can give your narrative later on. Continuing, the witness said he remembered Grohn's body being coffined at Mr. Norton's on the Sunday night. Witness gave the undertaker a suit of pyjamas to put on the body. .They were of A STRIPED PATTERN AND SILKY m texture. The body was taken away that night. The Coroner; Were you present when the body was put into the coffin? — No, I was not. Were you at the funeral the next day?— No, I was not. Were you at the morgue yesterday, between 11 and 12 o'clock ? — Yes. And you saw the coffin opened there?— l did. Did you look at the contents of it, and recognise anything?— l could not possibly recognise the body. Was there anything else there you could recognise? — I told the doctors that he had a suit of "silky" pyjamas on him. Did you see m the coffin pyjamas similar to those ypu handed the undertaker? — Yes, something similar; . Do you remember the pattern? — No; I just took them out and gave them to him. , Did you see ANY HAIR ON THE HEAD of the body?— Yes. Did that m any way resemble Grohn's?— I could not swear it was Grohn's hair. I said m the witness-hox at the Quarter Sessions that Grohn bad a thick head of hair, and he had heavy dark hair. Did you see the coffin when it was brought out to Mr. Norton's place ?-rYes. Was the cloth you saw round it yesterday the cloth that was on the coffin taken out to Mr. Norton's P— When I saw the coffin at i the morgue there' seemed to be nothing but 1 mud on it. To the best of your belief was.it Grohn's body P— Yes; the only thing was that I do not know whether or not the body had a singlet on when ub Rahdwick. It had A SINGLET ON WHEN I SAW IT at the morgue. At this stage the inquest was adjourned till Wednesday morning.